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Karui Hoshigami
| birthday = April 2 | age = 500+ | gender = Female | height = 5'6" | weight = 150 lbs | eyes = Green | hair = Light-Pink | blood type = B- | unusual features = Beauty Marks under her cheeks | affiliation = Gotei 13 | previous affiliation = Rukongai | occupation = 4th Seat of the Thirteenth Division Yūkōjōchū Ueshidate's personal assistant | previous occupation = Geisha of a bar in the Upper Rukongai | team = Thirteenth Division | previous team = None | partner = Yūkōjōchū Ueshidate | previous partner = Unknown | base of operations = Seireitei | marital status = Single | relatives = None | education = Shinigami Academy Auto-Didact | status = Active | shikai = Sode no Kurenaigisei | bankai = Not Yet Achieved }} Karui Hoshigami (保志加美止めとけ, Hoshigami Karui) is the current fourth seat of the Thirteenth Division of the Gotei 13. Formerly a highly-paid, well-liked working at a popular bar located at the upper parts of the Rukongai, she quits her jobs after being saved by Yūkōjōchū Ueshidate, the current captain of the Thirteenth Division, from a drunkard who almost rapes her. In gratitude, she decides to repay him by "pledging her services" only to him - via. in the form of joining the Gotei 13. After many years, she graduated with high marks, being stationed in the Thirteenth Division upon request. She's one of the main characters in the series Bleach: Anthem of a New World, serving as the assistant to Ueshidate, helping his student throughout various intervals of the story. Appearance Being a former geisha working in the high-class bars and restaurants of the upper-class society of the Rukongai, Karui had to keep a certain appearance at all times as to not offend any of her customers. Being neat, clear, and distinct, one of the ethic codes of being a successful geisha, Karui did her best to always keep herself in tip-top shape, always exercising everyday and being careful as to what she eats on a daily basis. Generally, her efforts paid-off, as she was one of the requested geishas at her bar, having at least a very high amount of customers each day. When she formerly working there, her appearance consisted of having long, bright pink hair which was allowed to flow freely and reached down past her back. She had a curvaceous figure, a large bust size, peach-colored skin, dark blue-colored eyes, and often wears red lipstick. Karui sometimes wore a long white kimono with a red stripe in between two black stripes around the waist as well as a red triangle at the bottom of her dress, decorated by flames and skulls motifs, open at the top to reveal her shoulders and a fair amount of cleavage and closed around the waist by a large black belt adorned with a horned skull. She also has ribbons tied around her sleeves, a buckled strap around her neck and traditional sandals with extremely high platforms soles. However, there were times that she would don a red top with golden buttons that reveals much of her chest and stomach. The top itself tied around her mid-section and had loose yellow tassels hung from the bottom. The skirt she sometimes wore was purple in color and had the same golden buttons as her top that outlined the hem. The skirt itself had several layers of white frills at the bottom and was held up by a white cloth that she tied onto the side of her hip. However, after leaving the business to join the Gotei 13, she abandons this attire, only wearing at certain intervals of her daily life. Instead, she wears the standard shihakushō, albeit with some design changes, mainly to take on a geisha-esque appearance, being an ode to her former life style, being loose, exposing much of her voluptuous bosom. An example is that she wears an Obi, black and red with flame-based designs, instead of the Hakama-himo that's assigned with said uniform. Also, she wears maiko's okobo geta with black socks instead of the typical tabi worn with white socks. This preference stems from the fact that she got used to wearing them when she was a geisha and it's more easier to move around in. Personality Karui is considered to be a well-mannered and respective individual who's also have a certain extent of patience when it comes to certain individuals. However, there's a limit and when it's reached she tends to lash out at the offender either physically or verbally, preventing them from ever doing it again. She's been known to retain her habit of entertaining her guests because of her training in her previous occupation being ingrained within the very core of her being. This goes to her dancing and singing to even pouring drinks for her guests. She especially enjoys it in the spring time, where the cherry blossoms are blooming, saying that its the best enviornment to show off her talents. Also, she tends to play the , noted to sound very beautiful and soothing both by her captain and Makoto alike. She's been known to be smiling nearly most of the time, especially when it concerns Makoto and his adventures as a Spirit Detective, calling them "amusing". She tends to dote on him, much to his embarrassment though the latter tends to see her as an older sister and looks after her safety. Probably derived from her previous occupation and a certain incident that took place there, she developed aphephobia to certain extent, only allowing certain individuals, such as Makoto (who's really kind and gentle at heart) and her captain (who's doubles as her savior) to touch her knowing that they truly mean no harm. This includes females as well, despite her stance on them. Any other person that tries to end in her having a violent reaction, in which said individual is seriously hurt. This extends to her style of combat, preferring long-distance rather than close-combat. It also explains her abhorrence towards Hakuda, which deals with contact, and her innate favoritism towards Zanjutsu, Kido, and Hoho - all of which tends to be long-range in nature. Albeit to the protest towards her captain, she practices Hakuda while incorporating Zanjutsu or another art form in there in order to deal with little contact as possible. With the exception of a few individuals, she tends to despise males as they were the aggressors of the mental trauma she currently carries. Calling them "disgusting creatures", she doesn't tend to be anywhere near them. In fact, her friends are exclusively-female, furthering such a fact. There are times where she conversate with few, especially within her own squad, showing a friendly face, but underneath such a facade, she shows absolute disgust. She tries to finish the conversation as quickly as possible by coming up with excuses and the like. She states that the type of males she specifically hates are "ones who can't take a hint of when they're not wanted" - serving as reminders of the ones who assaulted her in the past. It's also known that because of the incidents in her background, she can tend to be sadistic at times, albeit in a calm and collected manner. She tends to smirk or have strange outbursts of chuckles at times when seeing an enemy at her mercy, especially if they're male. She will use a variety of torture methods, such as cutting off their body parts, flay or maim them to horrific degrees, and on some occasions outright kill them. One can say that this sadism can be seen as an outlet of the anger and pain that's been dealt to her sometime in the past. History Not much about Karui's history is unknown, but's known that she grew up somewhere in the North Rukongai. Spending most of her life there, she grew up happily having those around her tending to her every need. It's until she reached adulthood that she decided to go out on her own. She joined one of the local bars in the district, which are known to be high-class as even noble tend to go to them in certain instances. There the barkeep gave her training on how to be a good geisha. Taking many months to perfect the arts of the geisha, she finally made her debut. Having given excellent service, she was talked about highly amongst many of the men. She fulfilled many of the requests sent by many high-paying customers, going from singles to large parties. She single-handedly turned the bar into a booming business known all over the Rukongai. It earned her the admiration of both her boss and her peers, who've constantly applauded her for her efforts. However it was until on her 380th birthday that she was doing a special service for a bunch officers from the Gotei 13. Drunk with liquor and wanting her for themselves, her forced her down with Bakudo and tried to strip off her clothes much to her dismay. Screaming for help, a man of high stature came in and defeated all of the assaulters with the simplest of movements. Crying and writhing in pain, especially on such a commemorative day, she fled the bar in an instant. The man had no chances to see how she was. She wandered the streets for some time, trying to avoid the public as much as possible. It was until she encountered a hollow that she screamed for help. It was, however to no avail, as no one heard her pleas. Chasing her down all the way to the exact place where she fled from, she was captured by the Hollow and was about to be devoured. With a swift slice of a blade, the hollow's grasp on the assaulted maiden was loosened and she fell to the ground. Wondering who saved her, she looked around only to find the same man who saved her from the incident prior. Instructed to stay behind him, she took cover as he swiftly dealt with the beast in a single strike. Asking his name, he introduced himself as Yūkōjōchū Ueshidate, the captain of Squad 13. Wanting to know how she can repay him, he advised to attend the Shino Academy, sensing great potential in her. Skeptical at first because her assaulters were Shinigami, he said that it's good for her as she can unlock hidden potential and she has a means to defend herself. She was also told that the main reason the Hollow was chasing her was because of the large amount of spiritual power slumbering deep inside her. Finally coming to an agreement, she accepted his offer. Karui said goodbye to the manager and the staff and headed of with Yūkōjōchū to the Seireitei. Because of the favor he put in for her, she was able to attend the Shino Academy. During the years she was there, her training was grueling and tough. Her efforts were seen as inspirational, despite having no experience in combat whatsoever. As a result, it made those around her try even harder. Even though she was well-liked by her peers, she jeered any male that dared to approach her that wasn't Yūkōjōchū due to her traumatic experience. There were also certain incidents that males tried to even touch her, causing a violent reaction which ended up with them getting seriously hurt. In her final year, she came out the top of her class and was quickly placed in the 13th Division upon the behest of its captain. From then on, she ascended the ranks until reaching her current position, spending the rest of her days with the one she admired and in debt to. It should be noted that she also trained under her captain, gaining new techniques and methods of defending herself. One could say that she was the person that was the closest to Yūkōjōchū. Synopsis Powers & Abilities High Spiritual Power: Her Spiritual Power is incredibly high for a low-ranking officer. It's known that she's able to nearly match a lieutenant-level opponent in mere quantity, and one of the reasons why she was able to become a seated officer in the first place. Being pink in color when exerted outwards, it tends to be laced in with her emotions - thus taking on various properties. An example is that when she's angry it gets very heavy and heated or when she's depressed, it tends to have an eerie chill to it. It is also great enough to allow her to be recognized by her future captain. Even when she was attending the Shino Academy, her instructors had noticed that it was great enough to easily surpass all of her other classmates, albeit none of them didn't have that much to begin with. It continued to show itself when she was target by a group of Hollows during a group mission, in which she used it to advantage to kill of them at once. :Intermediate Reiatsu Control: She's known to have some control over her reiatsu, using it as a deterrent of sorts in order to make a group of enemies surrender themselves. She also tends to use it in order to increase her already impressive physical capabilities to greater extents, letting her be able to survive against a Captain-level shinigami only for a short time. It's unknown why, but it's been stated that a visage of a tengu appears behind her whenever she uses her reiatsu in any kind of way. Enhanced Strength: Karui is known to possess incredible strength despite her stature, being able to crush large boulders just by using the tips of her fingers. She's able to put much force behind the attacks of her swordsmanship, causing aggregating blows to her enemies leaving them at her mercy. It's unknown what else she can do, but it's known she tends to use her strength to intimidate man people who tend to annoy her. : She tends to use Kido in place of martial arts, seeing it as a way of harming the opposition without harming them. Her skill in this skill is borderline master-class, both in knowledge and in application. It's known that alongside her swordsmanship, she tends to practice this skill albeit under the supervision of her captain. She's known to be able to cast high-level spells, although it tends to tire her out if done in rapid succession. Also, she's able to identify certain spells and their inner workings, even if it's from another race. There also instances where she would create her own in order to further expand the concepts behind Kido. Most of the spells she either has learned or has created is currently unseen by anyone but selected individuals, one of whom is her captain. :*'Thousand-Faces' (千顔, Sengao): A spell of her own design that lets her take on the temporary appearance of those she sees. The mechanics of the spell are simple. By examining the spiritual structure of anything she lays her eyes upon and re-arranging her own to match it, she can take on the appearance of said target. This would also include their personality and mannerisms as well as any techniques they may possess. However the downside to this spell is that while active, she can't access her own. Also, the duration of the transformation is based on how much spiritual energy she currently has. This tends to be good for espionage missions or when she wants to make for a quick getaway. : She's known to be one of the fastest low-ranked seated officers in the Gotei 13, her prowess letting her match, or in some cases outspeed, Captain and Lieutenant-class fighters. She can dodge point-blank range attacks in mere instances and attack within the same moment. She can go to far away places within the Seireitei and Rukongai within a few steps, though repeated usage will tend to tire her out greatly. Her skill in this field might be due to how she always escapes people who're after her in her past as a bar maiden. :*'Senka' (閃花, Flash Blossom): A Shunpo technique where one, moving to their opponent's back, directly attacks and seals one's "Saketsu" and "Hakusui" in two rapid strikes, effectively cutting them off from their spiritual energy flow. The technique is so fast, an opponent may not be able to tell whether they were attacked from the front or the back, and even an outside observer may find it impossible see the movements. Karui learned this technique from observing her captain using it one of his sparring matches with his fellow squad members. Although it took some time, she was able to perfect the technique for her own use. She tends to use this in tandem with her skill in Iaido, which is already considered to be instantaneous in nature. When done, it allows her to attack her opponents at a near godlike speed, so much so that she can land a myriad of attacks in that single instance possibly killing them in the process. However, if done so it will tend to tire her out greatly. She only uses this technique in dire circumstances and thus considered one of her hidden aces and one of the things that makes her stand out amongst lower-seated officers. :*'Utsusemi' (空蝉, Cast-Off Cicada Shell): Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō. It allows for movement at great speed, leaving an afterimage behind. This technique she picked up from a fellow Onmitsukido member after going on a joint mission with him to the world of the living to capture escaped convicts. After observing closely and breaking down the mechanics of the technique, she is able to perform the technique with a bit of difficulty, using it to avoid an enemy surprise attack. The member commented that it was an impressive feat to use the technique even though she saw it for the first time. Because she's already fast, she can easily produce one or two clones at a time. However, the number can be increased when she flows reiryoku through her body in order to enhance her abilities. At this point, she's able to create up to five clones entirely. But it can cause a slight strain on her body if she attempts to perform such a feat. Nonetheless it's pretty useful, as it's aided her in escaping enemy attacks and tricking the opponet on multiple occasions, especially when she's outnumbered. Martial Arts Combatant: Ironically enough, the only reason why Karui practices martial arts is to prevent her from being touched by her opponents, some of whom she considers to be "filthy". She's a practitioner of of Jujitsu, a soft-style martial arts which centers on offsetting the opponent's center of gravity. She accomplishes this by using the sheath of her Zanpakuto and the tips of her fingers to perform such a feat, using the former to hit them in certain vital spots, causing them to make a small opening in their defenses and then aims at their center, grasping onto their clothing using the latter, throwing them a good distance all the while using little contact as possible. She only uses this skill when she's close range or her sword is separated from her person. Expert Swordsmanship Prowess: Perhaps one of the most noticeable skills in her moveset is her Zanjutsu prowess, which is considerably high even for low-ranking seated officer standards. It's unknown why, but she has always been interested in the art of the sword, trying to master it's mysterious ways in any given way. She tends to practice her swordsmanship every chance she gets, slowly improving with each passing moment. It can clearly stated that because of this dedication she has for the art, she can easily keep up with the best, reaching a stalemate of sorts. Her attacks have been known to be clean and precise, being able to take out many enemies at once and cause aggregating blows to stronger enemies. It's known that because of her prowess, she's been called the Sword Maiden (剣人, Kenjin; lit. meaning "Mistress of the Blade") amongst lower-ranking officers, considered the best amongst them. Her skill has even been recognized by the upper echoleon of the Goeti 13, saying that she can easily best anyone of them with enough years on her belt. :Advanced Iaido Skill: Considered to be one of the cornerstones of her prowess as a swordsmanship, she's been known to rely on this style in many instances. Her skill in this art form is so great that she doesn't even need to make any kind of movement to draw her blade. She's been able to precisely strike things outside of her range, using the very air itself as an extension of her blade. Also, it's so instantaneous, that all but the most refined swordsman can't find the exact moment she drew and re-sheathed her blade and the attack only shows after it has landed. She's been able to use this to easily a slew of enemies in mere seconds, striking fear into those who were left to witness such a horrific sight. When she decides to slow it down, it appears as mere twitches if anything. ::*'Garuda Empty Flash' (迦楼羅真空一閃, Karura Shinkū Issen): The very personification of her skill in Iaido. As part of its namesake, the technique happens in a flash. So instantaneous that those who witness it couldn't process what really happened. Through this technique, Karui can destroy anything that should target her. This could go from Zanpakuto techniques, to Kido spells, to even actual Hakuda techniques. To the naked it looked as if all Karui did was stare at the technique and it was dissipated before her presence. However, it's much deeper than that. In the mere instance that the technique was aiming at her, Karui drew her blade in a quick fashion and perform many slashing motions - using both the air around her and her reiatsu as extensions of her being, all the while sheathing the blade in that same instance. The combined might of the three created hardened, yet invisible blades that bounce off each other at incredible rate. The continually increasing speed raises their sharpness, letting them slice through anything that is unfortunate to be within their flightpath. This technique is commonly used by Karui to settle disputes that she finds "annoying". :Kendo Expertise: The other art of the sword that she's proficient in. Taught to her in the Shino Academy, she had the highest grades amongst the girls concerning this art - so much so that she was able to easily best the boy practitioner in a one-on-one match, coming out as the victor with a mere two to three blows in certain areas of his body. Continuing upon her entrance of the Gotei 13, it's improved to the point where she can contend and best most of the officers in the 11th division save for the captain, all of whom are combat specialists. She can match their lieutenant in a prolonged match, ultimately reaching a stalemate - an impressive feat for someone of her position. She has much knowledge and history of the art, being able to either master or create techniques that fall into said art. Though used less than her Iaido, it's considered to be powerful nonetheless, saved as a last resort. ::*' ' (両断, Bisection): A technique she discovered on her own. Unlike the conventional use of the Kendō technique, Ryōdan, Karui does not hold the sword with both hands when executing the Ryōdan, deeming it to be unnecessary. The strength of Ryōdan, just like all techniques of Zanjutsu, is heavily linked to the might and resolution of the executor's willpower. Teeming with an unyielding sense of superiority, conviction of absolute victory and overbearing power, Karui's Ryōdan is potentially the most dangerous and unstoppable technique in his Zanjutsu arsenal. She holds her blade upwards, as if she was making a declaration to the heavens themselves of her impending victory, and slashes down with a cold lack of remorse, utterly slashing in two anything that dares allow itself to be within the scope of the swing. She tends to use this technique as a last resort as the very force put behind this technique is enough to create powerful shock waves that can blow away even the sturdiest of individuals and can split large structures with mere ease. However, she can only use this technique a certain amount of times in any given day. The current amount is four. High Intellect: She's known to be a very insightful and resourceful individual. Even in battle, this is heavily emphasized by her observation of her surroundings and dissecting information from even the most complex of clues. She's able to formulate plans of attack and able to deceive even the most insightful of individuals. She's able to understand the inner working of certain techniques after seeing it twice or more. What's more is that she's insightful on the history & customs of both the World of the Living and the Soul Society, amongst other worlds she hasn't visited but heard of. Zanpakutō Sode no Kurenaigisei (袖の紅犠牲, lit. meaning "Sleeve of Crimson Sacrifice") is the name of Karui's Zanpakutō. In it's sealed form, it takes the distinctive appearance of a hybrid of an eastern and westernized blade, possessing qualities of both. The blade has a western-looking red and black handguard and having the traditional yellow and red hilt-wrapping flanked by golden-colored plates on the hilt, which ends in a very ornate, carved pommel. The lacquered sheath is red in coloration. On the very top, the peace-sign is seen attached to the pommel. :*' ': Activated by the command Entertain the Masses (大衆を楽しま, Taishū o Tanoshima), the form doesn't make any sudden change. However, a slight reddish hue appears around the blade itself, signalling its activation. It's unknown why it's form doesn't change like a regular Zanpakuto, but's it's hinted that the blade itself is in an incomplete, thus its true power continues to slumber inaccessible to Karui at this point in time. ::Shikai-Based Abilities: The abilities of Karui's Zanpakuto are unknown since she rarely uses it. However, it's hinted that it may be related to the concept of Kabuki and Cherry Blossoms. The details are sketchy at best as even Karui doesn't have a full understanding of her own blade's powers. :*' ': Not Yet Achieved Trivia *The author chose the name of the Zanpakuto through a randomizer he found online.